Angelique Maeng: Apollo's Lyre

Chapter XIII

XIII

NICO

If Nico was going to lose another sister, he was
going to go insane. Not that he wasn't already insane from that trip to
Tartarus. What Alex just pulled was pushing it. Nico told her that
using too much underworld magic would wear her out so much that she, if severe
enough, would get herself killed, but did she listen? No! Will just
had to run out of arrows and go on a rampage because Nico get's grazed once
and, apparently in his boyfriend's book, it's an all out war.

Will must get it from his dad.

Okay, maybe that wasn't the best thing to think
about, especially out loud, but it was a good thing he wasn't
thinking out loud, or else his boyfriend's dad would have probably cursed him
with the plague or something. To be fair, Nico and Will were getting chased by
the Manticore which Nico totally called. Wait, why was he mentally
feeling satisfaction in that?

Nico was carrying Alex on his back, being that she
had passed out not too long after they had shadow traveled to wherever they
were. Nico might have seen a sign that said "HILL CITY" somewhere
while they were running, but he wasn't quite sure. He'd have to check later
when they weren't being chased by the same monster that tried to abduct him
eleven years ago. It also didn't help his mood that the same year he was almost
abducted by the Manticore, he lost his actual sister. Did he mention
that if he lost another sister he'd go insane?

"You've gone against this thing, how are we
going to kill it?" Will asked.

"I encountered it, I never fought it!"
Nico protested. "Besides, I was, like, ten and still loved that stupid
Mythomagic game–!" As he finished his sentence, the Manticore shot one of
it's spikes past Nico's head.

"So it's stupid to be into Mythomagic, but it's
the coolest thing ever to be into pirates?" Will teased.

"Shut up!" Nico shouted as they turned
down an empty street.

"We need to find a place to hide, at
least," Will said, putting humor aside. "You know we can't keep
running."

"I know, Solace!" Nico said, irritated.

Nico thought for a moment, which was hard, since he
and Will were still running from the Manticore. He was too hot on their tail,
and it was almost impossible to shake him off. There had to be a way.

Underworld magic wasn't going to help, at least not
to Nico's knowledge. The Manticore would just crush all his skeletal soldiers,
same with zombies. He could create a fissure, but that would have to take an
extreme amount of effort that Nico just didn't have. All that was left was
Will's Photokinesis and… His sonic whistle!

"Will!" Nico shouted.

"What?" Will answered.

"Do that sonic whistle thing again!"

"What? No!"

"Just do it, please?"

"Why?"

"Oh, come on, I said please!"

"Why would I want to– Oh," Will said, now
understanding why.

"Do it!"

Nico covered his ears while still managing to keep
Alex on his back. He could faintly hear Will's whistle through his hands.
Suddenly, he felt something graze his right shoulder. When it stopped, he
uncovered his ears. They kept running, the Manticore now stunned with his lion
paws– hands– whatever they were on his sensitive lion ears… At least he assumed
they were lion ears.

"Good thinking, Nico!" Will said.

"Yeah, well, I wouldn't have been much help
besides that," Nico said. He saw a sign that had the numbers 283
on it pointing to their left down a road. "Turn here," Nico said, now
running down it.

They traveled down 283. In all honesty, he didn't
know how long the road really was. At least they could slow down for a minute.
If Nico remembered correctly, they had reached the edge of Hill City. When Alex
woke up, Nico would have to ask where that was. She seemed to know a lot about
where things were on a map without actually looking at a map.

"How far are we going?" Will asked, on his
left. He glanced at the older wound on Nico's left shoulder. "I still need
to treat that– the poison could start taking effect…" Will paused.
"Actually, I'm surprised it hasn't acted up yet."

"Whatever you say, doc," Nico said.

They continued until they found trees on their
right. They went into the cover of the them, fearing they might find themselves
running away from the Manticore again, once it snapped out of being stunned.
They kept walking until they reached a small body of water. Seemed like a good
place to camp out for a while until Alex woke up.

Well, that was until the poison actually kicked in.
He could feel burning spreading from his right shoulder to the rest of his
body. His shoulder started to turn black from the poison running through his
veins. His left arm began to throb in pain, and his muscles began twitching
violently. As he looked at it, he saw it turning green and his blood still
flowing. He struggled out of his shirt, and saw his skin was an interesting web
of green and black. By now, he couldn't even feel his right arm, but his left
arm felt like it was burning and freezing at the same time. He fell over from
dizziness, feeling both poisons taking effect.

"You got shot by it and you didn't tell me?"
Will screamed.

"Don't worry, Manticore poison isn't lethal… But
dracanae poison is," Nico said before he yelled in agony. "Gods
dammit, this hurts like Tartarus!" He hissed as he curled up in pain,
because Nico would know what Tartarus felt like. He's been there.

Will quickly went to Nico's side. He laid him down
on his back, Nico unable to protest from the extreme pain that he was feeling.
His eyesight blurred, that was if he opened his eyes. He was in so much pain.
He tried to focus on Will's face, even if it was only for a second. As he did,
Nico saw the intense worry in his expression.

Nico could barely feel anything as Will treated him,
cutting open the wounds to let out the poison, then pouring what he guessed was
Nectar into it. Will patched him up and set Nico's head in his lap.

Slowly, he could feel the Nectar working, Will
playing with Nico's overgrown, messy, black hair.

"You're the best doctor boyfriend, you know
that?" Nico said quietly, a little loopy.

"You're an idiot," Will said with a shaky
voice.

"I know."

"If you live through this, I'm going to kill you,"
Will said.

"You can't," Nico said. "You love me
too much."

"Fine, but you can expect one hell of a
tan."

"More like a sunburn."

"That's the point, idiot."

"Shut up, I'm poisoned."

"You probably wouldn't be in such bad shape if
you had just told me earlier!"

"You've been out for three hours," Will
said seriously. "We just have to wait for Alex to wake up," Will
paused. "You're not going to make her shadow travel again, right? You're
not that stupid, right?"

"Of course not!" Nico exclaimed.
"She's not traveling again, she's been through more of it in one week than
I have in one month."

"Oh, good–!"

"I am."

"What–No!" Will shouted. "Out of the
question! Doctor's orders!"

"She is not going to put that kind of strain on
herself again! I forbid it!" Nico said. "Apollo already blames me, so
I should be doing this, even if it means going alone!"

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